Kissed by a Cowboy Read online

  Kissed by a Cowboy

  Kissed by a Cowboy

  Midpoint

  Kissed by a Cowboy

  Lacy Williams

  ISBN: 978-0-9898147-6-8

  Copyright 2014 by Lacy Williams

  Smashwords Edition

  Prologue

  Prom night – twelve years ago.

  This was a mistake.

  The words reverberated through seventeen-year-old Haley Carston's head. Pulsed painfully through her heart.

  They even trembled in her hands.

  The pale pink princess-style prom dress poufed around her. There was no other word to describe it other than poufed. She looked like a strawberry cupcake.

  The girl staring back at her in Katie's full-length mirror looked like a stranger. Too much blush, too much mascara. Dark pink lipstick. How had she let her new friend talk her into this much makeup?

  Because everyone let Katie. Katie was that kind of person. The shining star.

  Nothing like tag-along Haley.

  But that girl in the mirror—she was a stranger.

  Except for the scared eyes. Those were all Haley.

  After Katie had found out she wasn't planning to go to the senior prom, she'd promised to find Haley a date. And no one said no to Katie.

  But who could she have found?

  Haley's dad had dragged her to Redbud Trails, Oklahoma in the middle of her senior year, after a job he'd been chasing hadn't panned out. They'd planned to leave after a few weeks, but Haley's Aunt Matilda had seen how unhappy she was at the prospect of moving again and offered to let her stay until her first semester of college.

  Haley had expected to hate the minuscule high school, graduating class of a whole dozen. She'd never imagined she'd fit in, figuring she'd stick out like the outsider she was.

  Instead, she'd found an immediate friend in Katie, who'd taken Haley under her wing and drawn her into her circle of friends—the popular kids—and made Haley forget that she hadn't been born and raised in small-town Oklahoma.

  Most of the time.

  Tonight, she felt like a silk flower in a room full of hothouse roses. Pretending she was one of the crowd but woefully inadequate.

  The three-inch pumps that matched the dress were already pinching her toes. She wobbled into the hallway and hesitated outside Katie's bedroom doorway. How in the world was she going to get to the first floor without tumbling down them?

  "What are we waiting for?" Haley recognized the complaining male voice wafting up from the living room—Katie's boyfriend-of-the-month, Ronald Walker. Katie had commented more than once about how fine they would look in their prom pictures together. Haley thought maybe that was the only reason her friend was dating the jock and half-expected a breakup soon after tonight.

  "Haley will be down in a minute," Katie said.

  Showtime.

  There were other voices laughing and talking. Katie had convinced the group to meet up at the Michaels' farm and carpool. Which meant more people to see Haley descend and face whatever sap Katie had found for her, some guy who felt sorry enough for Haley to be her date.

  Her feet didn't want to move. But she was afraid Katie would come upstairs looking for her if she didn't go. She took the first step and let her momentum carry her down, down...

  Voices got louder. It sounded like Katie had a crowd of friends in the living room.

  "Maddox, heads up!"

  When she heard the name, Haley lifted her gaze from the stairs, and she stumbled on the last step. She barely registered the projectile flying toward her until it whacked the back of her shoulder. Her foot caught in the long dress, and she tilted precariously.

  A strong pair of hands caught her waist and steadied her.

  And a kid-sized play football fell to the floor.

  "Sorry," Katie's younger brother Justin, a freshman, muttered from somewhere off to the side.

  Haley looked up . . . and up . . . and up into the strong-jawed face of Maddox Michaels, Katie's older brother.

  Who should've been in jeans and a Stetson but instead was wearing a smart black suit and white shirt and black tie...

  No. Oh no.

  "Great, we're all here!" Katie sang out. "Let's have mom do her three hundred pictures so we can go."

  Maddox let go of Haley's waist, but only after he made sure she was steady in the uncomfortable heels. "All right?" he asked easily.

  She nodded dumbly, her cheeks burning hotter than the face of the sun. She'd only met Maddox twice before, and she'd found herself tongue-tied both times.

  He was handsome. A college guy.

  And she couldn't even stutter out a sentence!

  "I think this belongs to you." He presented her with a simple wrist corsage of white roses. His fingers were hot on her wrist as he slipped it over her hand.

  "Oh, um..." Thank you. How hard would that have been to say? But she only had one thought blaring through her brain. Find Katie!

  She excused herself—had she even said pardon me?—and moved faster than the shoes should have allowed, pushing through the other bodies crowding the room. There Katie was, coming out of the kitchen. Haley took her friend's arm and ducked back into the brightly-lit room.

  "I can't go to prom with your brother," she hissed.

  Katie patted her hand, looking over Haley's shoulder back into the other room. "Look, I know he's an old curmudgeon..."

  Curmudgeon? Was Katie insane? Her brother was...was amazing. Sure, he occasionally got irritated with Katie's wild schemes, but then, who wouldn't?

  He'd just finished his freshman year on a football scholarship—quarterback, no less. And there was talk that a Division I team wanted to recruit him. He was that good.

  And that far out of her league. What would she even say to him? Had Katie lost her ever-lovin' mind?

  Katie's smile turned apologetic. "But he was the only one..."

  ...who would go with you.

  Her friend didn't have the finish the sentence. The words Katie didn't say hurt just the same.

  "Look, I don't have to go to prom," Haley whispered frantically. "I can just go home, and then he won't have to pretend to be my date."

  "Quit worrying." Katie waved her hand like she was brushing away a gnat. "Everything will be fine. Everyone will be so focused on him, they won't even notice you."

  Great.

  And Katie was right.

  Against her better judgment, Haley squeezed into the suburban Ronald had borrowed from his mom. She would've pressed up against the window but her voluminous skirt prevented her from scooting far enough in. Her face burned as Maddox calmly settled his lanky body beside her, one long leg pressing into the pink layers.

  His shoulders were so wide he had to rest his arm behind her on the seat.

  It took all her energy to keep from falling into him as Ronald showed off for the guys, speeding around corners until Haley thought she might get carsick. By the time they got to the banquet hall, her whole body ached from tension, and she hadn't danced a single song yet.

  Maddox helped her out of the vehicle, and within seconds, they found themselves surrounded by guys offering high-fives and talking about the last games of the season. Girls flirted with him as if Haley weren't even there.

  She couldn't believe Katie had done this to her.

  #

  Maddox wanted to kill his sister.

  Not for the date. He'd met Haley a couple times before, and she seemed all right. Maybe a little shy, but not starstruck like a lot of the other high school kids.

  Tonight was supposed to be three or four hours hanging out with Haley and his sister's friends. Home by midnight. No big deal.

  But he hadn't counted on the other kids. They followed him around all night until
he felt like a celebrity trying to avoid the paparazzi.

  About halfway through the evening, he finally spotted a patch of daylight in the crowd and broke into the open field. Out of the decorated banquet room. All the way outside. There was a little church next door with a small playground and he made a beeline for it like he had a linebacker on his tail.

  He probably shouldn't have pulled his date out with him. It had been sheer reflex to grab her hand when he'd made his escape.

  But now that they were alone, he had second thoughts and dropped her hand. Maybe he should've left her in there with her friends. She was so quiet—it made her seem more mature or something—he kept forgetting she was a year younger than him.

  The cool night air felt good against his hot face, but he still couldn't breathe. He loosened his tie, sticking a finger down his collar to try and alleviate the choking sensation.

  Everyone's expectations were stifling. Even his mother! He remembered her whispered words before he'd left the house that night. "Just don't get her pregnant—you don't want to ruin your life." How embarrassing, and really, did his own mother not know him better than that? And what about ruining Haley's life? His mom didn't seem to have spared a thought for Haley at all.

  He should be used to the pressure. After his dad drank himself to death when Maddox had been fourteen, she'd started calling him man of the house. He'd worked early mornings before practice and into the night, keeping the farm out of bankruptcy after his dad had almost lost it all.

  And now that there was a hint of fame on the horizon, his mom had become obsessed with Maddox's football career.

  The expectations wore on him.

  Football season didn't start for months, but he already felt like he was about to be blitzed.

  Even so, he should probably suck it up and be sociable for another hour or so, until they could get out of here. He looked up.

  It was full dark out, but an outside light on the corner of the building illuminated Haley. She was watching him, her lower lip caught between her teeth.

  "Sorry," he said.

  She folded her arms around her middle and shrugged. Her dress was pretty, but she seemed uncomfortable. With him, or with the situation?

  He nodded toward the banquet hall they'd come from. "I didn't realize it was going to turn into such a zoo."

  She shrugged again. She was so quiet, he couldn't get a read on her.

  "You're not having fun," he guessed. He turned slightly away and ran a hand through his hair. "This was a bad idea." He gave the empty merry-go-round a shove, sending it spinning. "This is probably a nightmare compared to how you imagined your senior prom."

  "I never imagined it," she whispered.

  He barely heard her over the metal squeaking as the merry-go-round wound down.

  "Why not?" He glanced back at her.

  She looked into the distance, still clutching her elbows with both hands. "My dad and I move around a lot. This is my fifth school in three years."

  "So...?"

  "So it's hard for me to make friends. I never planned on going to senior prom, but Katie..."

  "Katie," he agreed, trying for lighthearted.

  Instead of smiling, she turned her face to the side. "Sorry you got stuck with me," she muttered.

  "I'm not." He probably surprised them both with the statement. "Unlike most everybody else, I know how to say no to Katie."

  In the dim light he could see her luminous hazel eyes. Maybe they were filled with hope, with expectations, but somehow, she didn't make his chest tighten up like all the other kids did.

  "We didn't get to dance," he said. When he reached for her, she stepped into his arms. He'd expected her to be hesitant, and maybe she was, but somehow, she fit there, in his arms. His heart pounded like he was about to throw a fourth and goal. He shuffled his feet, barely moving to the muffled notes audible even though they were outdoors and away from the dance.

  What was going on here?

  "I'm sorry about all of...them," he finished lamely. All the fanfare, the kids following him around all night. They'd all heard about State sniffing around after the season wrapped. If he was recruited, there was a chance he'd been seen by the pro scouts.

  His mother, his friends—heck, the whole town had stars in their eyes.

  "I don't think they get it," she said softly, her words a puff of warmth against his neck. "Only like one percent of all college players get drafted to the NFL."

  She peered up at him, biting her lip again like maybe she shouldn't have said that.

  "You're a football fan?"

  "Not really. My dad."

  He was having a hard time concentrating on talking. He didn't want to think about all those expectations. Not right now.

  She said softly, "It's a lot of hard work."

  Looking down on her, he thought about the kind of work it would take to get to know someone like Haley. She wasn't the typical girl, falling all over herself to get him to like her. She was...real, somehow.

  "I'm not afraid of hard work."

  He saw goosebumps rise along the slope of her shoulders, felt her shiver through his hands at her waist.

  "Do you have a backup plan?" she asked. "In case the football thing doesn't pan out?"

  Here was another reason to like Haley. Her smarts. Once, he'd overheard her coaching Katie before a big test. Now that he knew she had moved from school to school, it was even more impressive that she could keep up with the assigned work.

  He pulled her to his chest, and her face tipped up to his.

  He thought he should probably kiss her.

  When their lips were only an inch apart, she leaned back. "I don't want you to kiss me, just because Katie forced you to be my date."

  And that's the moment he fell a little bit in love with Haley Carston.

  "All right."

  And he bent his head to kiss her anyway.

  Chapter One

  Present day.

  Haley Carston walked out of the bank and into the mid-June day. Summer was coming to western Oklahoma, and she knew better than to expect this mild weather to last.

  She clutched the manila folder in one hand. The power of attorney for her aunt was a sign that everything was changing—and Haley didn't want it to. But she didn't get a choice. Life was like that sometimes—which she knew better than anyone.

  The gilded glass door locked behind her with a decisive click. Haley had been the last customer of the day, and her business had taken longer than she'd wanted. No doubt the bank employees were in a rush to get home.

  It shouldn't have taken nearly so long, but several of the employees had wandered into the bank manager's office to greet her like the old friend that she wasn't.

  She'd only been back in Redbud Trails, Oklahoma, for a week, but the small town seemed to have a long memory. Everyone remembered her as Katie Michaels' tag-along, even though it had been over a decade since she'd left for college and stayed in Oklahoma City. She'd already lost count of the times she'd heard someone say, "You used to run around with the Michaels girl."

  She squinted in the afternoon sunlight. Her memories of Katie were like a giant fist squeezing her insides and twisting. Haley had worked hard during college to shed the perpetual shyness that had followed her to the state university. But she'd never forgotten her best friend. Katie was a light that had shone too brightly—and burned out too quickly.

  Just like Aunt Matilda. Haley's aunt had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and wouldn't last the summer. One thing Haley had learned from growing up the way she had was you didn't get that time back. Her boss had granted her a leave of absence, and she arrived in Redbud Trails the next day.

  Aunt Matilda needed her. And her aunt had been there for Haley through the dark days after Paul had walked away. Haley would stay by her aunt's side until the end.

  Even if it was hard.

  She paused to take a breath and admire the picturesque square in front of the bank. It had always been her favorite place
in this own. Just as she was turning away, a small voice cried out, "Wait!"

  A young girl rode up on a bicycle, dark pigtails flying out behind her, red-faced and huffing, her forehead slick with sweat. She hopped off the bike before it had even stopped rolling. She didn't even glance at Haley but ran up to the glass door and banged on it. Her purple backpack bounced with the force of her whacking.

  "Please—" the girl gasped. She sounded near tears.

  And the bank was most definitely closed.

  "Honey," Haley said, "I don't think they're going to open for you."

  The girl just banged harder. Stubborn.

  "They c-can't be closed. I need to talk to a loan officer. I have to show them!"

  What was the girl so upset about? Haley looked for a parent, figuring that someone must be responsible for her. The girl looked about ten, but that was still too young to be in town, alone.

  But no one was around.

  "Hey." Haley approached the girl and put her hand on her shoulder.

  The insistent banging finally stopped. The girl's head and shoulders drooped. She sniffled and rubbed a hand beneath her eyes, still looking down.

  "Can I help you, hon?" Haley asked.

  The little girl looked up, giving Haley her first good look at the turned-up tip of her nose, splash of freckles, and blue eyes. Her heart nearly stopped. The girl was a near-carbon copy of Katie. Down to the thick, curling eyelashes that Haley had been so jealous of back then.

  She might've been the image of her mother, but the hesitant wariness in her gaze was all her Uncle Maddox. Haley's insides dipped at the single thought of the man she hadn't seen in over a decade.

  "You're Livy, right? Livy Michaels?" Haley asked. "I'm Haley Carston."

  The girl didn't react to Haley's name. Haley had rarely visited Redbud Trails after she'd entered college. Aunt Matilda had mostly opted to come down to the city. And Haley doubted Livy's uncle had ever mentioned her.

  "Nobody calls me that," the girl said, pulling away and crossing her arms.

  "Oh. Sorry. Olivia." Haley smiled, trying to show that she was a friend. She'd heard Katie call her the nickname once, right after Olivia had been born. Maybe the pet name hadn't stuck. Because Katie hadn't been around to use it.